WASHINGTON D.C. — Farmers are applauding a decision in Congress they say eliminates unnecessary red tape from certain pesticide applications.

 

The House on May 24 approved the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017.

The bipartisan legislation, which had failed in the past, was presented by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio).

The bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act, or CWA) to prohibit the U.S. EPA or a state from requiring a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for a discharge of a pesticide from a point source into navigable waters, if the discharge is already approved under FIFRA.

Numerous organizations involved in agriculture including the American Farm Bureau Federation hailed passage of the measure, which moved over to the Senate.

Twenty-four hours later, that chamber assigned the bill to its Committee on Environment and Public Works for further review prior to a possible vote at some point of the full Senate.

“For too long, American farmers and ranchers have been forced to comply with a costly and duplicative pesticide permitting process,” said Agriculture Committee Chair K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas).

“Pesticides are already fully regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, but a misguided court interpretation has required additional permitting, unnecessarily costing producers both time and money.”

Gibbs and other supporters of the bill maintain that an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy was added to the pesticide permitting process in 2009 when the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the creation of another regulatory process under NPDES. The additional requirement went into effect two years later.

Opponents of the court’s decision maintained that the process for obtaining a permit to apply pesticides from a point source to, near or above navigable waters already existed with the EPA. The results were delays and higher costs to obtain the chemicals. Some municipalities even stopped mosquito abatement programs, from having to jump what they argued was a needless hurdle.

“This is a common-sense measure that provides peace of mind to those living in communities prone to mosquitoes, by eliminating the need for a redundant permit that diverts resources from the mission of protecting public health,” said Gibbs. “Regulations, though well-intentioned, often make it more difficult for farmers, business owners and local governments to do their jobs,” said House Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.).

“We rely on our farmers and ranchers for safe food in our grocery stores and on our plates. The House voted to streamline pesticide regulations to cut the red tape that was standing in their way, without lowering safety standards.”

The National Association of Counties (NAC) came out in strong support for the measure, which had also been introduced during four previous sessions of Congress.

EPA estimates 365,000 pesticide users, including forest managers, scientists and private citizens, are negatively affected by the added permitting process.